World of Warships Supertest: U.S. Tier IX Premium Destroyer Halford

Historical background

USS Halford, (DD-480) was part of the great family called the Fletcher-class destroyers from the U.S. Navy. The ship was laid down in June 1941, launched in October 1942, and commissioned in April 1943.

Because the U.S. Navy was printing Fletcher-class destroyers like Germany was printing money in the 1920s, they decided to start using some of the ships to experiment with new equipment and configurations. One of these guinea pigs was the Halford which, alongside the USS Pringle and USS Stevens, was fitted with a catapult and aircraft crane to operate a float plane.

The purpose of this float plane was to provide spotting for the destroyer flotilla which she would be part of. However, to fit the catapult, it was necessary to remove the 3rd 127 mm main battery turret, one of the two torpedo tubes, and the twin 40 mm Bofors was moved to the stern, replacing the 20 mm Oerlikons normally present there.

In the end, this configuration would be short-lived, being replaced by the standard configuration of Fletcher-class destroyers with five main battery turrets and two torpedo tubes in November 1943. Tactical changes and the great increase in the number of deployed aircraft carriers made her capacity to deploy scouting aircraft irrelevant and unsuited for the new tactics employed.

After returning to active service with her increased combat capabilities, Halford would take part in numerous anti-shipping sweeps, escort, and shore bombardment operations until she was called to take part in the famous Battle of the Philippine Sea. She took part in the first phase of the battle, enjoying a front-row seat for the Marianas Turkey Shoot. Later on, she would also take part in the Battle of Surigao Strait after which, she continued to participate in escort missions and shore bombardment operations until the end of the war.

At the end of January 1946, she joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet and was later decommissioned in May of the same year. Halford would remain in reserve until May 1968 when she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register before being sold for scrap in April 1970.

If you want to learn more about Halford and the Fletcher-class, here is a video from Drachinifel covering it:

In World of Warships, we are getting Halford as she was with her original configuration. She can deploy a squadron of Attack aircraft in battle, equipped with Tiny Tims rockets.

Ship’s preview

Ship’s commemorative flag

Ship’s permanent camouflage

For the classic reminder, this is a ship in testing, anything can change so don’t look at her like she would already be released.

Modules

Hull	Engine	Gun Fire Control System	Main battery	Torpedoes	Attack aircraft
Halford	Propulsion: 60 000 HP	‎Mk9 mod. 1	127 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.30 mod.0 mount	‎ 533 mm (5x Mk29 mod. 1)	F8F Bearcat float

General Characteristics and Playstyle

Consumables
Slot 1	Slot 2
Damage Control Party Work time: 20 s Cooldown: 80 s	Engine Boost Number of charges: 3 Work time: 120 s Cooldown: 120 s Speed bonus: +8%
	Defensive AA Fire Number of charges: 3 Work time: 40 s Cooldown: 80 s Continuous Damage: +100% Damage from shell explosions: +300%

Main Armament

4 x 1 27 mm/38 Mk.12 on a Mk.30 mod.0 mount
Maximum Firing Range	10.220 km
Reloading Time	3.3 s
180 Degree Turn Time	5.3 s
Optimal firing angles at the front	30°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	28°
Sigma	2.0 sigma
Maximum Dispersion	92 m
Shells
Type of Projectile	HE – 127 mm HE Mk32
Alpha Damage	1 800
Penetration capacity	21 mm
Explosion size	5.7 m
Fire chance	5 %
Projectile Speed	792 m/s
Air Drag	0.38
Projectile Mass	24.5 kg
Type of Projectile	AP – 127 mm AP/SC Mk38
Alpha Damage	2 100
Projectile Speed	792 m/s
Air Drag	0.347
Projectile Mass	25.0 kg
Projectile Krupp	2 598
Projectile Detonator	0.01 s
Detonator threshold	21 mm
Ricochet Angles	45° – 60°

Attack aircraft

Attack Aircrafts – ‎F8F Bearcat float
Tier	X
Hitpoints per plane	1 660
Cruise speed	176 knots
Maximum speed	216 knots
Engine boost time	5 s
Engine boost reload time	10 s
Size of attacking flight	4
Aircraft per squadron	4
Rocket type	Tiny Tims
Rocket per plane	2
Machine gun sequence	5.0 s
Maximum rocket damage	5 400
HE penetration capacity	68 mm
Explosion size	31.05 m
Fire chance	33 %
Detectability range	10.0 km
Restoration time	120 s

Torpedo Armament

1 x 5 533 mm Mk14 Mk29 mod. 1
Reloading Time	106 s
Maximum Distance	13.500 km
Optimal firing angles at the front	50°
Optimal firing angles at the rear	50°
Damage	19 033
Flooding Chance	323%
Speed	66 knots
Surface Detectability	1.4 km

Anti-air Armament

ASW Armament

Shipborne depth charges
Reloading Time	40 s
Number of charges	2
Number of bombs in payload	16
Damage	5 100
Sink speed	21.5-32.2 m/s
Detonation timer	6.5 – 7.5 s
Explosion radius	800 m
Fire chances	21%
Flooding chances	43%

The Armor

External armor protection:

Personal Opinion

I’m not going to lie, I’m slightly excited about this ship. While it is a Fletcher with only four turrets, only one torpedo launcher, weak anti-air, no Smoke Generator, and worse concealment (6.71 km when fully specced), the stuff she receives in return is pretty nutty.

First and Foremost, she gets access to a squadron of attack aircraft carrying Tiny Tims dropping up to eight rockets and from what I can see in the game files, the reticule is particularly tight, just barely bigger than the Tiny Tims of Saipan for two additional rockets. While Halford doesn’t get access to the Focus Fire Training skill to further reduce the aircraft restoration time, she is still able to deploy them every 114 seconds and they can make a pretty big difference on the field.

As for the torpedoes, it might only be one launcher but with a 13.5 km firing range while otherwise having the same characteristics as Fletcher’s upgraded torpedoes.

Overall, Halford is shaping up as a support destroyer more than one that will be on the frontline, using her Attack aircraft and long-range torpedoes to do the work. With her lack of firepower, underwhelming concealment, and lack of defensive tools, you definitely want to be careful with what you do with the actual ship. At best, with her small size and U.S. ballistics, she can spam HE from behind islands. Otherwise, she will have to take opportunistic fights against other destroyers already weakened, possibly by her rockets.

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